Ukraine-Russia war latest: Zelensky accuses Putin of ‘deceiving’ Trump with new three-day ceasefire

Volodymyr Zelensky has said that an agreement with the US on developing Ukraine’s minerals had become “stronger, more equitable” after negotiations between the two sides.

“Today, our government also reported – representatives of Ukraine in negotiations with the United States – regarding the economic partnership agreement,” Mr Zelensky said in his nightly address.

“The document has become much stronger – more equitable – and could be beneficial to both our peoples, for Ukraine and for America,” he said.

Ukraine’s minerals have become central to global geopolitics, with the US president, Donald Trump, seeking a deal with Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelensky to access them.

On 17 April, the Ukrainian officials announced they had signed an outline of a minerals deal with the US and said a final accord could be reached by the end of next week.

On being asked whether he thought Mr Zelensky was ready to “give up” the illegally annexed territory, Mr Trump on Sunday said: “Oh, I think so”.

A peace deal proposed by the Trump administration includes recognising Russian authority over Crimea.

While Kyiv expects to have to concede territory to Russia, at least temporarily, in the terms of any truce, the idea of a legal or formal surrender of Crimea – which Vladimir Putin annexed illegally in 2014 – would be impossible, officials say.

Less than two days after US president Donald Trump lashed out at Vladimir Putin for “tapping me along” over a peace deal, the Russian president has announced another temporary ceasefire – this one scheduled to last three days.

His grand declaration raised immediate suspicion over whether this was yet another stalling tactic from the most conniving of dictators.

The Kremlin said the truce would take place from 8 to 10 May, to coincide with Russia’s Victory Day celebrating the defeat of Nazi Germany – likely not a coincidence, given Putin’s repeated, completely baseless claims that a “neo-Nazi regime” in Ukraine justified his full-scale invasion.

Ukraine has yet to officially respond, but will no doubt greet the news with a large dose of scepticism.

Chief international correspondent Bel Trew writes:

“We continue to be concerned by (North Korea’s) direct involvement in the war. (North Korea’s) military deployment to Russia and any support provided by the Russian Federation to (North Korea) in return must end,” a US State Department spokesperson said in an email on Monday.

Russia’s air defence units destroyed 51 Ukrainian drones in the space of less than three hours late last night, most of them over the western Kursk region, the Russian defence ministry said.

Russian defence units had destroyed 40 drones over Kursk between 8.20pm and 11pm Moscow time (1720-2000 GMT), it said in a statement.

Russia’s president Vladimir Putin said at the weekend that Moscow’s troops had ejected Ukrainian forces from Kursk region more than eight months after Kyiv staged a mass cross-border incursion.

But Ukraine has denied Russia’s claims and said fighting is continuing in Kursk.

Other drones were destroyed over central Oryol region and Belgorod in the south and over the Crimean peninsula and the Black Sea.

Volodymyr Zelensky praised Ukraine’s foreign intelligence service for the killing of top Russian military figures since the start of the war, without directly mentioning the latest attack that killed a senior Russian officer.

“The head of Ukraine’s Foreign Intelligence reported on the liquidation of persons from the top command of the Russian armed forces. Justice inevitably is done,” Mr Zelensky said yesterday, referring to the agency’s head, Oleg Ivashchenko.

“The head reported on further measures to counter Russian agent networks in Ukraine and saboteurs. Good results. Thank you for your work,” the Ukrainian president said.

Mr Zelensky’s remarks made no reference to any specific instance of Russian military officers being killed.

The Kremlin blamed Ukraine for last Friday’s car bomb outside Moscow that killed Yaroslav Moskalik, 59, deputy head of the Main Operations Directorate of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces.

Ukraine’s SBU intelligence service said it killed Lieutenant General Igor Kirillov, a top Russian general accused by Ukraine of being responsible for the use of chemical weapons against Ukrainian troops, last December in Moscow.

Russia has called on Ukraine to “follow” its example in calling a ceasefire for the May public holiday next weekend.

“All military actions are suspended for this period [8-10 May]. Russia believes that the Ukrainian side should follow this example,” a Kremlin statement read.

“In the event of violations by the Ukrainian side, Russia’s armed forces will give an adequate and effective response.”

This is the second such truce announced by Moscow in recent weeks but it has been accused of repeated violations of the previous temporary truce it called on Easter Sunday.

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky has accused the Russian president Vladimir Putin of manipulating the world and deceiving the US with his latest temporary ceasefire offer made yesterday.

Mr Putin announced a temporary ceasefire in Ukraine next weekend to mark the 80th anniversary of victory in the Second World War, the Kremlin has said.

“Russia has consistently rejected everything and continues to manipulate the world, trying to deceive the United States. Now, yet again, another attempt at manipulation: for some reason everyone is supposed to wait until 8 May before ceasing fire — just to provide Putin with silence for his parade,” Mr Zelensky said in his nightly address yesterday.

He said: “We in Ukraine never wanted a single second of this war. Back on 11 March, we responded positively to the American proposal for a full ceasefire.”

“We made our own proposal to Russia – bilaterally – to halt strikes at least on civilian targets. We also proposed making the Easter ceasefire full and extending it for thirty days,” Mr Zelensky said, highlighting numerous ceasefire proposals made by Kyiv that have not been acknowledged by Moscow so far.

The 72-hour ceasefire is the second announced by Moscow in recent weeks, after it declared a 30-hour Easter Sunday truce – which Kyiv and its European allies accused it of breaching.

The Kremlin said the truce will last from the beginning of 8 May and last until the close of 10 May, adding that Russia give an “adequate and effective response” to any Ukrainian violations.

Moscow remains ready for peace talks without any preconditions, the statement added.